Reviews by Wine Type/Origin

Archive for November, 2017

Astonishingly simplistic for a Margaret River white; sort of a taint on the brand. I mean even without a Google what comes to mind? Leeuwin, Cullen, Vasse Felix… Heavyweights all. Think of it; expectations run high. To open something so inconsequential and immediately forgettable is a bit like the difference between a spun sugar dome over sorbet at a Michelin starred restaurant and candy floss on the midway at a fair.

Quintessentially prix fixe lunch “table wine included” French white. No home run, no strike out, more of a walk. Apple, quince, gun barrel dry, sharp, piquant, a most palatable foil to cheese sauce or rich vegetarian, although it held up less with chicken.

A pale (as in slight) Chardonnay, as Chards go, but an appetizing food friendly dry white. I would give it no stars, as stars go, but recommend it still.

A low score middling wine with the Decanter bunch: I took exception and found it climbed above the measly 87 points they deigned to anoint it with, and still I laud Decanter.

It has lovely citrus notes, a spicy nuance, bits of tropical notes like flambeed pineapple–and none of the cloying oak of heavy handed Chards. There is a sweet spot, somewhere between the fridge and room temperature, where it comes alive and really charms.

It’s been a few years since we picked up a bottle of Amalaya. Why? I have no idea. It’s an inexpensive extremely palatable crowd pleaser that even pleases the pointsters. From Salta, Argentina’s version of Atacama, it’s a dark, luscious sipper with a thick, balsamic feel on the tongue, and some charred chocolate and licorice on the finish. Readily available across BC, the online description touts raspberry, graphite and black olives, none of which popped for us. That said, this is spectacular “BC value” if you know what I mean.

Yeah. So. Not Rioja’s finest hour. It’s a close but no cigar vintage. We did not find it elegant or balanced or rounded, as promised. We found it a bit uneven, with a vanilla that’s at the fore (and not in a good way) and a softness to the fruit that was decent and palatable but not memorable.

You can find this in the US for $12 a bottle. A steal. You can buy this in Saskatchewan for $18. Very good value. But at nearly $30 in BC with tax it’s like fruit past its prime.